Category Archives

On the 13th of April. WICS toured Riot Games’ corporate campus in Los Angeles to gain insight of the game development industry as well as learn what drives the success behind Riot’s popular game, League of Legends.

Upon our arrival at the campus, we were warmly greeted by Grant Cushman, Riot’s University Relations Recruiter, who was our guide for the tour. After getting our name tags, Grant gave us a brief introduction to what League of Legends is and shared with us how it has grew to become a big part of competitive eSports. We were then greeted by a large Annie and Tibbers statue in the main lobby and all of us were excited to take pictures with it. Next, we were led to see meeting rooms themed after League of Legends’ champions, a cafe with a Bilgewater (pirate) interior, a large cafeteria serving a wide selection of food, an arcade filled with retro game machines, an internet cafe lined with rows of gaming computers and open workspaces in which almost every desk had at least two monitors and a hardworking employee.

Our tour was wrapped up by a Q&A session with 3 software engineers who worked in different departments. They shed some light into the life of working in a game company, the challenges they face as well as how working in the game industry contrasts to working in other industries. Since we were a small group of 18, we were able to ask all of our questions and learned a lot from these experienced programmers. We were also inspired by how Riot employees seemed to have a “work hard, play hard” philosophy, as many of them play games together while still taking their work very seriously.

Overall, we are truly grateful to Riot Games for giving us this opportunity to tour their campus as we learned a lot about the game industry. Thanks to everyone who participated and we hope to see you again!

On April 18th, it was a warm and sunny Tuesday morning at the UCI flagpoles; 23 students eagerly waited for rides heading towards the Blizzard tour. WICS Corporate made sure everyone was present before we embarked to the site. Upon arriving, many were delighted to see the Blizzard sign with its amazing banners and statues. All of the students were really excited to see some of Blizzard’s buildings and works stationed outside of the courtyard plaza. Throughout the tour, light chatter and awe were lit on many faces. Many students were impressed and attentive, asking questions at some of the highlights of the tour. Towards the end, we thanked our guide and took pictures, keeping them for keepsakes of the amazing experience we had. This event allowed our students the opportunity to meet with talent acquisition and network with Blizzard. Our students are now inspired to work there!

On the 12th of April, WICS in collaboration with Hack at UCI hosted a Command Line workshop. Over 50 attendees joined us at the Calit2 Auditorium that evening. Before the workshop began, attendees, club officers, and mentors chatted outside the auditorium eating delicious Costco pizza as our hard-working WICS committee were signing people into the event. After finishing our meals, we continued inside the theater-like auditorium and began setting up our machines for an insightful workshop. Three Hack mentors developed a step-by step curriculum in preparation for the attendees to learn the basics of Command Line. Throughout the duration of the workshop, Hack representatives encouraged all questions to be asked which allowed the audience to remain very attentive and focused. The event was a huge success. We all learned a lot about the Command Line, a crucial tool for navigating through your system’s files and directories. Thanks for everyone who came out and we look forward to seeing you all again!

On April the 5th, WICS hold the first general meeting of the Fall quarter. During this event, WICS presidents Janay and Katie introduced the club, the events we host, and the board members and committee members. The attendees enjoyed delicious pizza from Dominos and Soda. After the meal, we played team building games. The attendees are spread into several groups. Then we got asked questions such as the number of siblings we have, and the brands of our shoes. We sorted ourselves according to the answers to the questions. The quickest team was awarded swags. The event was a great success. We meet lots of new people. Thanks for everyone attending the event. We are looking forward to seeing you again!

On Wednesday, March 1st, WICS hosted a movie night for WICS’s mentorship program. WICS mentors and mentees had an amazing time bonding with each other as they baked their favorite recipes. At the movie night, the members were able to interact with other mentorship pairs as they watched “The Emperor’s New Groove”, ate baked goods and pizza together, and engaged in nice conversations. More than 25 WICS members attended the movie night! This movie night was a great and entertaining way for mentorship pairs to meet up and share their favorite recipes. It was great way for WICS members to relax, eat amazing food, and spend quality time with great company!

On Tuesday, February 21th, WICS teamed up with Hack at UCI and held its Intuit Interactive Hackathon Prep workshop. We had an outstanding turnout of about 45 participants that were excited to be there and learn more! Intuit provided many tips on how to have a successful hackathon. They also had the group go through several group exercises like creating their own prototype! Everyone was Intuit (in to it)!!! 🙂 While groups were working on the exercises, Intuit employees were providing guidance along the way. Overall, the event was successful and everyone definitely enjoyed themselves and gained more insight on how to have a great hackathon! We hope to have you at our future meetings, you are more than welcome!

On Wednesday, February 15th, WICS held its quarterly study session. About 25 members joined us in studying. People were more than happy to help each other, whether it was with studying for midterms or working on homework. In addition to doing schoolwork, everyone had fun talking about life and getting to know each other. As usual, various kinds of pizzas and drinks were provided (bonus: cheesy bread)! Food and study/homework buddies make studying for midterms or doing difficult homework a lot less painful. :)))) Come join us next time!

On Wednesday February 8th, WICS teamed up with ICS Student Council to host an inspiring information session with Twilio! We had a great turnout of 58 participants ready and excited to learn. Twilio demonstrated their awesome API and sent out text notifications to our audience. We learned through the Q&A time that Twilio is an engaging and welcoming company where their interns can work on real projects. Twilio will be back on campus in October 2017 to recruit for summer 2018 internships. As a closing statement our Twilio representatives encourage us to “Be open to learn. In a small company like Twillio, you’ll make a big impact.” So keep an eye out for when applications open up again and apply!

This past Wednesday February 1, WICS hosted an entertaining Crime and Mystery themed game night. WICS members had a fun bonding time with each other as they played “Murder in the Dark” and mafia. Around 30 WICS members attended this game night, which made playing these group games even that more fun! As we are approaching the middle of the quarter, this game night was a relaxing and entertaining way for WICS members to take a break from studying and have some laughs!

On the wonderful and chilly Wednesday of January 18, 2017, 60 students gathered together to learn about the joys and wonders of interview! WICS offered invaluable experience and tips for acing any interview. For Freshmen and Sophomores, student speakers spoke about their experiences in and how to land an amazing internship with companies that specifically target underclassmen. We also offered guidance for upperclassmen on how to prepare for their interviews, whether it be PM or Software Engineer! Students gained awesome skills that will help them in their next interview, or at least during WICS’s Mock Technical Interviews next week. We would like to thank everyone for coming enjoyed the advice/pizza! Go forth and interview!